Have a phobia? There's virtual reality therapy for that

In the News

Have a phobia? There's virtual reality therapy for that

September 18, 2018

University of Washington

A virtual reality starring a spider was created at the University of Washington.

The therapeutic use of virtual reality, be it for pain or fear, actually piggybacks off the use and development of video games, said Hunter Hoffman, a research scientist at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He was interviewed for an Associated Press article by Carla Johnson on VR therapy for phobias.

Hunter developed an early VR therapy called Spider World two decades ago. He didn’t license his arachnophobia project, unlike other early researchers who’ve teamed up with companies to sell VR platforms and content.